Women Empowered is the official Gracie self-defense program for women. In this 10-lesson program, we will teach you how to neutralize the 15 most common attacks ranging from having your hair grabbed to being pinned to the ground by a weapon-bearing assailant. Each one-hour Women Empowered lesson addresses two techniques. You can start the program at any time and participate in any class without previous experience. Unlike most self-defense systems that rely heavily on strength, speed, and coordination, the techniques in the Women Empowered program employ leverage, technique, and timing, so anyone, regardless of age or athletic ability, can make them work against larger opponents. Once you complete the Women Empowered program, you may test for promotion to Pink Belt!
If you have no previous martial arts experience and you want to learn how to defend yourself in a fun, safe, and cooperative learning environment, Women Empowered is for you.
15 Essential Techniques
Law enforcement officials and survivors of sexual assault helped us identify the 15 most common attack strategies that a male assailant is likely to use on a woman. From hair-grabs and choke-holds, to bear hugs and weapon defenses, the Women Empowered program covers it all.
Step 1: Learn the Techniques We have divided the 15 Women Empowered techniques into 10 one-hour classes so that you can complete the course at your own pace. We designed each lesson so that you can start at any point in the course. As a result, you can start the program at any time and complete the 10 lessons in any order. Upon enrolling, we will issue you a Women Empowered attendance card on which we will track your progress every step of the way.
Step 2: Develop Your Reflexes Once you complete each of the 10 Women Empowered lessons twice, you will qualify to participate in the Reflex Development (RD) classes where you will learn how to combine the 15 techniques to address the most common occurrences in a real self-defense situation.
Step 3: Earn Your Pink Belt Once you complete each of the Women Empowered lessons four times, and you’ve completed at least four Reflex Development Classes, you are eligible to test for promotion to Pink Belt! During this 15-minute test, we will assess your execution of all 15 essential techniques. If your performance meets Gracie Academy standards, you will qualify for promotion to pink belt. As a pink belt, you will be more than ready to move on to the Gracie Combatives program should you choose to continue the jiu-jitsu journey!
What is the Pink Belt? As with every program in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu (Gracie Combatives, Master Cycle and Gracie Bullyproof) awarding belts is the traditional way to acknowledge progress and accomplishment. With the development of the Gracie Women Empowered program, the pink belt was created to acknowledge completion and mastery of the course.
